Clearing Mental Clutter

Acceptance

What is your mind like when you begin to practice each day?  Are you hoping for improvement? Wishing your playing was a bit better?  Wishing you didn’t continually fall into the same pitfall whether it be technical, expressive, or intonation? OR are you so overwhelmed with tasks that your mind spins on what you need to do or how much is ahead? Do you find yourself thinking about things like specific jobs or better instruments that would improve your playing or validate you?

Thoughts like this separate us from the present moment (the best place to practice, perform and live from.)  In the present, we can start where we are and grow.  Consider if you hold onto something a teacher said about your playing such as “you might want to consider a different career.” (yes, I was told that)

I suggest you start your next practice session or even your day with acceptance.  Accounting for where you are, your strengths, your weaknesses, not the labels you have adopted from others.

Acceptance became really clear last weekend at Parkour while practicing the kong vault in icy conditions.  On either side of the surface I was vaulting over, there were snow and slippery ice.  I caught myself in the mental loop of “if the snow and ice were not here it would be better/easier/more fun.”  I recognized that I was powerless to change the conditions.  This narrative was mental clutter. My choices were to accept or go home.

You guessed it, I accepted it.  From that point on my mind became clear to focus on the process of kong vaulting in icy conditions.  I took chances, leaned into the sensations in my body, and reached a new level of movement and understanding. Progress!

Can you apply this to your practice?  Take a look at where you are as you prepare to play.  Not just the space around you, your skills, where you need to strengthen facets of your playing.  From here, you are ready to approach playing at this moment without cloudiness and baggage weighing you down.

Maybe you have playing aspirations that you haven’t gotten to yet.  From the present, you can chart a discernable, reliable course to tackle your challenges bringing your artistry to life.

Be curious…

By the way, I totally accept that I may never be able to do a kong vault with ease and fluidity, but that won’t stop be from working toward it! ;-)